Covering support system

ABSTRACT

A covering support system includes a covering support that has a support member defining a support surface and that is connected to a mounting member so that when the mounting member is rigidly mounted relative to a wall stud, the support surface is substantially flush with an exterior surface of the wall stud and disposed from the exterior of a building surface by the overhang distance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of, and claims priorityto, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/228,714, now U.S. Pat. No.9,885,178, titled “COVERING SUPPORT SYSTEM,” filed on Aug. 4, 2016. Thedisclosure of the foregoing application is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

A common practice in the construction industry is the application ofcovering, e.g., cladding, panels, siding, sheathing, on exterior wallsof buildings. Typically, the covering is attached to studs defining aframe of an outside wall. The studs may be load bearing or non-loadbearing. For multi-story buildings, especially commercial buildings, thebuilding studs may not extend over the exterior surface of thefloor/ceiling slab between each floor. Therefore, the covering mayoverhang the exterior surface of the slab but is not attached to theslab. Because the covering is typically not reinforced and instead isdesigned with expectation that it will receive much of its structuralsupport from the frame to which it is to be attached, the section ofcovering that overhangs the exterior slab surface is much moresusceptible to damage than the sections of covering that are attached tothe studs. Pressure on the overhanging portion of the panel, such asthat caused by impacts to the panel during building construction, or bystrong winds, may cause the panel to bend or fracture.

One solution is to build an exterior frame in which non-load bearingstuds extend across the exterior surface of the slab. While thisprovides ample support for the covering, the building of the exteriorframe adds additional square footage to the exterior footprint of thebuilding, and is also more expensive than building a frame structurebetween each floor that spans from only the floor surface to the ceilingsurface.

SUMMARY

This specification describes technologies relating to a covering supportsystem that provides structural support for a covering that overhangs anexterior surface of floor slab or column. The covering support systemcan be used with a covering support frame that can be separatelyconstructed for each floor. In the examples described below, thecovering support system is described in the context of panels orsheathing as the covering. However, other coverings, such as siding,cladding, skins, etc., may also be supported by the covering supportsystem.

In an aspect, the covering mounting system includes a covering supportcomprising: a mounting member configured to be rigidly mounted to one ormore of a wall stud or stud track that overhangs an exterior buildingsurface by an overhang distance; a support member defining a supportsurface and that is connected to the mounting member so that when themounting member is rigidly mounted relative to the wall stud the supportsurface is substantially flush with an exterior surface of the wall studand disposed from the exterior building surface by the overhangdistance; and a bracing component connected to the support member andthat provides rigid support to the support member to reduce flexion ofthe support member and thereby maintain the disposition of the supportsurface from the exterior building surface by the overhang space.

In an aspect, the covering mounting system includes a covering supportcomprising: means for rigidly mounting the covering support to one ormore of a wall stud or stud track that overhangs an exterior buildingsurface by an overhang distance; means for defining a support surfaceand that is connected to means for rigidly mounting so that when themeans for rigidly mounting is rigidly mounted relative to the wall studthe means for defining a support surface is substantially flush with anexterior surface of the wall stud and disposed from the exteriorbuilding surface by the overhang distance; and means for bracingconnected to the means for defining a support surface and for providingrigid support to means for defining a support surface to reduce flexionof the means for defining a support surface and thereby maintain thedisposition of the means for defining a support surface from theexterior building surface by the overhang space.

The systems and features described in this document can be used torealize one or more of the following advantages. Cost savings areachieved by obviating the need to build an exterior frame structure thatspans exterior slabs and columns. The cost savings are due in part tothe reduced complexity of the frame structure that is built betweenfloors, which reduces time and material requirements. Additional costsavings are achieved by maximizing the usable space of a buildingfootprint, as the usable space is not reduced by the space required foran exterior framing structure.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a covering support system.

FIGS. 2A-2D are cross-sectional and perspective views of one exampleimplementation of the panel support system.

FIGS. 3A-3C are cross-sectional and perspective views of another exampleimplementation of the panel support system.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of another example implementationof the panel support system.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional and perspective views of anotherexample implementation of the panel support system.

FIG. 6 is a top cross-section view of the panel support of FIG. 5B beingused to provide support for sheathing over a vertical column.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements. Furthermore, in several drawings element numbers are beomitted to avoid congestion in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a covering support system 10.In the examples described below, the covering support system 10 isdescribed in the context of a panel support system that supports panels.However, other coverings, such as cladding, skins, siding, etc. may alsobe supported by the covering support system. Accordingly, applicationsof the system 10 are not limited to panels.

The covering support system 10 includes a panel support 100 that, whenrigidly mounted to one or both of a wall stud 200 or stud track 300,provides a support surface 132 that provides support for sheathing 410.The support surface 132 is preferably flush with an exterior surface ofthe wall stud 200, as will be described in more detail below. Thesupport surface 132 is an outer surface of a support member 130 and isdisposed from an exterior slab surface 402 of a slab 400 by an overhangdistance d₁. The support member 130 may optionally be dimensioned sothat it is spaced apart from the surface by a distance d₂. A bracingcomponent 134 is connected to the support member 130 and provides rigidsupport to the support member 130 to reduce flexion of the supportmember 130, which helps maintain the disposition of the support surfacefrom the exterior slab surface 402.

The panel support 100 includes a mounting member that attaches to one orboth of the wall stud 200 or stud track 300. The mounting member maytake several forms, and the example shown in FIG. 1 is a flange 110. Theflange 110 and other forms of the mounting member are described in moredetail below.

The wall stud 200 is one of multiple wall studs that are received in thestud track 300. As shown in FIG. 1, the stud track 300 may be aconventional stud track that is of a width that completely receives thewall stud and overhangs the slab 400 by the overhand distance d₁.However, when the flange 110 is used for the mounting member of thepanel support 100, at least the top stud track 300 may be of a widththat is less than the wall stud track 300. In this implementation, onevertical end of the stud track 300, formed by a flange 302, may bereceived in a slot 202 in the wall stud 200.

Various implementation of the support system 100 will be described inmore detail with reference to FIGS. 2A-5B. In particular, a firstimplementation is described with reference to FIGS. 2A-2D, which depictcross-sectional and perspective views of the first exampleimplementation of the panel support system 100.

In the implementation of FIGS. 2A-2D, the panel support 100 has asupport member 130 that includes an exterior surface 132 upon whichsheathing 410 may be mounted. Any conventional mounting fixture oradherent may be used to mount the sheathing 410 to the exterior surface132.

The support member 130 is further braced by a flange 134 that forms abracing component. In some implementation, the thickness of the supportmember 130 and the span over which the member 130 is to be providesupport may obviate the need for a separate support. In theseimplementations, a separate bracing component is not required for thesupport member 130.

Another flange, flange 110, is used as a mounting member. The flange 110includes a second flange 112 that extends substantially perpendicularlyfrom the flange 110. The support surface 132 and the surface of theflange 112 are approximately spaced apart by a distance W_(s), which isapproximately equal to the interior width of the stud 200 of FIG. 2B.

The stud 200 of FIG. 2B includes a first stud member 212 defining afirst stud surface 213. The first stud member 212 may also have a flangefold 208 that forms a surface substantially parallel to body surface ofthe stud 200. Likewise, the stud 200 includes a second stud member 214defining a second surface 215 opposite the first stud surface 213, andalso includes a similar fold 210, thus forming a slot into which thepanel support 100 may be received. When the stud 200 receives the panelsupport 100, as shown, for example, in the cross-section view of FIG. 2A(note the upper stud 200 in FIG. 2A is a mirrored configuration of thestud 200 of FIG. 2B), the flange 112 and the flange forming the supportsurface 132 are received in slots formed by the stud members 212 and 214and folds 208 and 210. After insertion, the flange 110 may be rigidlyattached to the stud 200 by fasteners, adherents, welds, or other rigidattachment means.

The stud track 300 includes a base 301, a first vertical flange 302extending upward from a first side of the base 301 and runningsubstantially a length of the first stud track 300, and a secondvertical flange 304 extending upward from a second side of the base 301that is opposite the first side of the base 301 and also runningsubstantially the length of the first stud track 200. The width W_(st)of the first stud track is less than a width W_(s) of a stud that isdesigned to be received within the first stud track 300. Accordingly,the first stud includes a slot 202 that receives one of the flanges ofthe stud track 300, e.g., flange 302. The difference between the widthof the stud track 300 and the width of the stud 200 is approximately theoverhang distance d₁. When the slot 202 in the side surface of the stud200 receives the flange 302, the second stud member 214 abuts the secondvertical flange 304 of the first stud track 300.

Likewise, the flange 110 in the panel support 100 also includes a slot114 that is operatively aligned with the slot 202 and the flange 302 sothat it, too, receives the flange 302 of the stud track 300 when thepanel support 100 is inserted into the stud 200 and the stud, in turn,is received in the stud track 300.

When so assembled as shown in FIG. 2A, the support surface 132 of thepanel support 100 is substantially flush with the exterior surface(e.g., surface 213) of the stud 200. Accordingly, when each stud 200 ina sheathing support wall is affixed with a respective panel support 100,the panel supports 100 provide support surfaces 132 that overhang theexterior surface 402 of the slab 400. This allows for a structurallysound mounting frame upon which panels, such as sheathing 410, may beattached to the exterior of a building.

In another implementation, respective mating flanges are provided on thestud 200 and the panel support 100 for additional structural support.One example implementation is shown in FIGS. 3A-3C. As show in 3B, amating flange 204 is formed in the stud 200 by a cut and fold of aportion of the frame of the stud 200. The slot 202 may optionally extendabove the mating flange 204. A reciprocal mating flange 116 is likewiseformed in the plane support 100.

When the panel support 100, stud 200 and stud track 300 are assembled ina manner similar to the assembly described with reference to FIG. 2A,and as shown in FIG. 3A, the mating flanges 116 and 204 overlap and canbe connected by fasteners, welds, etc. Furthermore, as illustrated inFIG. 3A, the mating flanges 116 and 204 may also be proximate to theflange 302 of the stud track 300 such that they can be attached to theflange 302 of the stud track for additional structural support.

Although a mating flange is shown on both the stud 200 and the panelsupport 100, in some implementations only the panel support includes themating flange.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of another example implementationof the panel support system. The mating flanges 221 and 119 are formedby perpendicular metal structures having respective bases 220 and 118and that are respectively attached to the stud 200 and the panel support100. The flange 221 is aligned with the slot 202 in the stud 200, andthe flange 119 is aligned with the slot 114 in the panel support 100.The resulting assembled configuration is similar to that of FIG. 3A,where the mating flanges 119 and 221 may be adjacent the flange 302 ofthe stud track 300 so that they may be attached to the flange 302 of thestud track for additional structural support.

The panel support 100 of FIGS. 2A-4B has a mounting surface 132 with awidth that is approximately equal to a width of the exterior studsurface, e.g., surface 213 of the stud 200. Accordingly, a panel support100 is typically provide for each stud. The studs, in turn, aretypically spaced apart according to building code requirements.

However, in another implementation, the panel support may have acontinuous support surface that spans a multiple of studs that arespaced apart in the first stud track. This implementation is shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, which are cross-sectional and perspective views ofanother example implementation of the panel support system. In theimplementation of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the panel support 500 has a supportsurface 532 and a correspond flange 540 extends from the support surface532 and serves as a mounting member. The flange 540 runs a length of thepanel support 500. The support member 530 may include a fold 544 and aset of braces made from angled flanges that each have a base 542 and aperpendicular flange 543. As shown in FIG. 5A, the flange 540 may bepositioned under a stud track and stud. A conventional stud 240 and studtrack 350 may be used. Alternatively, the stud 200 and stud track 300 ofFIGS. 2A and 2B may be used. The flange 540 may be affixed to the studtrack 350 (or stud track 300, if used instead of the stud track 350) byfasteners, welds, and the like.

The panel support 500 may also be used to provide support for otherexterior building surfaces, such as a column surface. FIG. 6 is a topcross-section view of the panel support 500 of FIG. 5B being used toprovide support for sheathing over a vertical column surface 442 of avertical column 440. The portion of the slab 400 shown is the floorsurface of the slab 400. Studs 200 are positioned adjacent the verticalcolumn 400. The exterior surface of the vertical column 442 issubstantially flush with the exterior surface of the slab, as indicatedby the stud track flange 302. A respective panel support 500 is attachedto each stud 200 in a vertical manner by connecting the flange 540 ofthe panel support 500 to the stud 200 along the length of the stud 200.The flange 540 may be affixed to the stud 200 by fasteners, welds, andthe like.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyfeatures or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that aredescribed in this specification in the context of separate embodimentscan also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment.Conversely, various features that are described in the context of asingle embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodimentsseparately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, althoughfeatures may be described above as acting in certain combinations andeven initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimedcombination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and theclaimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation ofa subcombination.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

1. (canceled).
 2. A support device, comprising: a support surface havinga first vertical length; a first flange that extends substantiallyperpendicularly from the support surface, the first flange being of awidth that spans a distance between a first stud surface and a secondstud surface of a stud, and being of second vertical length measuredperpendicularly relative to the width and parallel to the first verticallength, the second vertical length being a distance from a top edge ofthe flange to a bottom edge of the flange, and wherein the secondvertical length is less than the first vertical length by a thirdvertical length; a second flange that extends substantiallyperpendicularly from the first flange at an end of the first flange thatis opposite the support surface; wherein: a first portion of the supportsurface will abut the first stud surface and the second flange will abutthe second stud surface when the support device is mounted to the studlengthwise by the first vertical length, and a second portion of thesupport surface equal to the third vertical length will overhang thestud when the support device is so mounted to the stud, and wherein thesecond portion of the support surface is substantially flush with firststud surface.
 3. The support device of claim 2, further comprising abracing component connected to the support member and that providesrigid support to the support member to reduce flexion of the supportmember.
 4. The support device of claim 3, wherein the bracing componentis a third flange that extends substantially perpendicular from thesupport surface along the third vertical length.
 5. The support deviceof claim 2, wherein the first flange includes a slot that is spacedapart from the second flange a distance that is equal to a distance of astud track in which received a stud to which the support device can bemounted.
 6. The support device of claim 5, wherein the width of thefirst flange as measure perpendicularly to the second vertical length issuch that the support surface and the second flange are received withinthe stud when the support device is mounted to the stud.
 7. The supportdevice of claim 6, wherein a width of the first flange as measureperpendicularly to the second vertical length is such that the supportsurface and the second flange are received within the stud when thesupport device is mounted to the stud.
 8. The support device of claim 7,wherein a width of the support surface measured perpendicularly relativethe first length is equal to a width of the first stud surface.
 9. Thesupport device of claim 2, wherein a width of the support surfacemeasure perpendicularly relative the first length is equal to a width ofthe first stud surface.